If a presidential election were held today–1,012 days from Nov. 8, 2016–Hillary Clinton would be the clear winner in Florida, beating any Republican contender by a comfortable margin, including Floridians Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

But if Clinton hopes to amplify her chances by relying on the Obama brand, she’ll be disappointed. President Obama’s approval rating in Florida is at 42 percent, his disapproval at 53 percent. It’s better than in November, when it was a 40-57 split, but it is still far from the sort of numbers that could add momentum to a Democratic ticket in 2016.

Among Republicans, Bush leads a fractious field and would win a primary with 25 percent of the vote, followed by Rubio with 16 percent, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul with 11 percent, Oklahoma Sen. Tod Cruz with 9 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 9 percent, and U.SD. Rep. Paul Ryan, who was Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012, with 5 percent. Among Republicans, Bush is still the favorite, if by small margins, among evangelicals and tea party voters, an unexpected weakness for Rubio, who had been a tea party favorite.

The Republican field reflects national polls in which no clear favorite has emerged for the 2016 race, in contrast with Democrats, among whom Clinton is by far the front-runner. In the Florida poll, Clinton gets 64 percent of the vote in a theoretical Democratic primary, well ahead of potential candidates such as Joe Biden (9 percent), the only name that garnered more than 5 percent. Biden is not liked in Florida: only 29 percent of respondents think he would make a good president. Other names include Elizabeth Warren, the freshman Massachusetts senator, and Andrew Cuomo, the New York governor.

The election is 34 months away, and the race itself two years away, so polls at this point have little connection to the likely outcomes of the next presidential contest, for which no candidate has yet announced. But such polls are strong indicators of trends that significantly influence pot6ential candidates’ decisions to run—or to sit out the election. They also measure each party’s cohesion, strengths and weaknesses, and provide at least a sense of potential candidates’ strengths and vulnerabilities within states or constituencies.

For example, in a Clinton-Bush match-up, which Clinton would win 49-43 percent, each candidate would win 90 percent of his or her respective party voters, and Bush would win the vote among men 48-43, but Clinton wins the Independent vote which almost always decides elections in Florida (46-41), she wins the women’s vote by a much larger margin than Bush wins the men’s vote (53-40), a doubly significant number not only for its wider margin but because more women than men vote. While Bush wins the white vote, 54-38, Clinton overwhelmingly wins the black vote (89-9) and the Hispanic vote (61-28).

Clinton’s numbers are especially strong against Republicans in light of her previous reputation—before she became Barack Obama’s secretary of state—as a polarizing figure. Among Democrats, Florida has always been kind to Clinton, who beat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, 50 to 33 percent. At the time Clinton was the clear front-runner and Florida’s was only the 6th primary contest. In other words Clinton has been in the front-runner position before, only to be overtaken in latter stages of a race. That may yet happen with a Democrat—or a Republican, should she run. But historically, no Democrat or Republican in at least a generation has had as commanding a lead so early in the process.

The Florida numbers are also skewed against Republicans, making them look weaker than they really are, because two native sons—Bush and Rubio—are in the field, and both are popular in the state. They end up splitting a vote that, in an actual race, would likely be more unified. Still, the Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton defeating each one individually, whoever would end up challenging her.

The Quinnipiac poll also points to the damage Christie, the New Jersey governor, has suffered since revelations of the scandal involving members of his administration ordering the shut-down of approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge in New York, as retaliation against the mayor of a local town who was not in lock-step with Christie’s administration. The poll found that 78 percent of Floridians had heard about the bridge scandal. In November, Christie was getting 14 percent of the vote in a Florida Republican primary. He’s down to 9 percent, and has also weakened in a match-up against Clinton.

“New Jersey Gov. Christopher Christie isn’t finding any sun in the Sunshine State” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “‘Bridgegate’ is having a negative effect on his presidential fortunes in Florida. Since Florida is the nation’s largest swing state, and one of the early primary states, the numbers are not good news for the New Jersey governor as he tries to weather the storm from the controversy.”

As far as who would make a good president, only Clinton (58 percent) and Bush (50 percent) get positive marks in Florida. All other potential candidates get negative marks.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,565 registered voters from Jan. 22-27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent. The survey included 586 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points and 529 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points.

@Genie says–Oh, COME ON! Saint Ronald Reagan was two weeks shy of his 70th. birthday when he was first elected to the Presidency. I didn’t hear any outcry from Republicans then. Or, maybe you only feel this way about WOMEN who are 70 years old…or, DEMOCRATS who are 70 years old…

@Genie says– Given your age concerns, I am sure that you refrained from voting for John McCain, who would have been 72 years old if he had been elected in 2008. Nice try. Stuff happens to people of all ages and even presidents with known medical conditions have been elected when their qualifications make them the better candidate for the job. Think Franklin D. Roosevelt. I know some 70+ year old people who have a lot more on the ball than some people in their 20’s, 30′,40’s. I know many younger people who are not as healthy as their older counterparts. Maybe it’s the totality of the person that counts, rather than just one or two isolated things we can pick out to automatically dismiss them. I agree that it is important to look at the qualitfications of the vice presidential candidates because ANYTHING can happen. I happen to prefer Joe Biden over the likes of Sarah Palin and Paul “Eddie Munster” Ryan–who would just love to put seniors receiving Medicare on a voucher system. Be careful what you wish for.

You Republicans just love you some Benghazi…What WOULD you do without it? I am sure you prefer the likes of Governor Chris Christie–Whose little dance on the bridge to Fort Lee, New Jersey more recently cost a life or two.. But, then again, that happened on our own soil, so, perhaps it shouldn’t count. As for Hillary being RESPONSIBLE for Benghazi–Did she personally go over there, set the place on fire, out a bullet into anyone’s head? To listen to the Republicans, who practically salivate any time the word “Benghazi” comes up, you would think that she planned the attack and carried it out personally. Does she have some share of responsibility? For sure! I have yet to hear ANY Republican call for “special hearings” about Iraq…But, then again, that wouldn’t exactly help their cause. What, apparently, DOES help their cause is exploiting the deaths of America’s public servants overseas to further their own political aims. Hillary’s exasperation in the that travesty of a hearing was shared by a lot of us. Those hearings were NOT conducted to assess what really happened and how we might correct and direct our future actions so that it doesn’t happen again. The object of the hearing was to knock out a potentially viable Democratic Presidential candidate and throw as much s**t on the wall as Darryl Issa & company could manage to get to stick. And Conservatives continue to bring it up and blow it up for the same reasons. Your party would appear to be a lot more believably patriotic if you at least pretended to be interested in learning from the Benghazi tragedy, instead of trotting it out as a big stick to whack Hillary Clinton with every chance you get. And, by the way, a lot of the other higher-ups in the State Department that were at least as responsible as she was in the components that led to the tragedy in Benghazi were–and are–Republicans, who rose to their prominence in the State Department under Republican Administrations (think, Condoleeza Rice, of Iraq War fame.)

As a matter of FACT, Barack Obama did NOT support the Iraq War. He was very vocal in opposing it. And a lot of otherwise intelligent people did vote to support Bush in that war–on the basis of misinformation and outright lies TOLD to us by that administration. They even got Colin Powell to go in front of the UN to INSIST that there were WMD’s in Iraq–We had proof, remember? Except, we really didn’t. It’s hard to make an informed decision on the basis of distorted information…which your home team was eager and only to willing to provide. Thanks for bringing that point up, by the way.

@Sally says–Oh, right, Hillary didn’t care. She personally let good American die in Benghazi because she couldn’t care less. It wasn’t her OWN daughter, after all. LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE BENGHAZI HEARING TRANSCRIPT, WHY DON’T YOU, INSTEAD OF JUST THE CLIP SELECTED FOR YOU BY FOX NEWS! Doing so might get in the way of your prejudices, but you might actually learn something

@Steve Wolfe: “We the people””…Ah, shades of Ayn Rand! God help us avoid electing her amphetamine-fueled philosophies in the shape of people like Ron and Rand Paul!

@Steve Wolfe says==And we wouldn’t be able to PAY the debts that we already owe (and owed LONG BEFORE Obama was elected) if it was up to the Obstructionist crazy Tea Party element that has hijacked the Republican Party. They do like to throw tantrums that hold up the workings of our government. Even if some of their actions (or inactions) may cost us immeasurably for years to come, they feel it’s worth it in order to make their distorted points to an already gullible constituency. No thanks!

@Anoun says–The difference is in how Republicans would assess responsibility to people representing their party as opposed to their Democratic counterparts. You conduct hearings over Benghazi, not to learn from it and prevent future tragedies, but to rake Hillary Clinton over the coals and knock her out as a potential candidate in the future. Yet, NO one, in the Bush administration, including Condoleeza Rice, was ever called before ANY investigative body to explain their actions or account for their mistakes as pertains to Iraq…mistakes that have changed our world and cost MILLIONS of lives. It is terrible that 4 lives were lost in Benghazi. But, as to the millions lost (and still counting) because of our debacle in Iraq, you really don’t seem to have much to say. When Conservatives make mistakes, they are just, OOPPS, mistakes (and pay no attention to the man or woman behind the curtain, Dorothy.) When errors occur during a Democratic administration, they SINS AGAINST GODAND COUNTRY. Therein, lies your difference.

@Bunnell Resident: By all means, the Republicans should show their commitment to Latinos all over America by putting up for nomination a weasly kiss-a** pretender like Marco Rubio. You can only pray that the majority of Hispanic voters are not bright enough to see through that one.

She isn’t responsible for Benghazi. You really need to do some research if you think that, she’s the fall guy for a congress that decided to underfund embassy security and for people that literally do not understand that the only role of military stationed at embassies is to make sure that secret documents do not get into the hands of the enemy. I knew someone that died at Benghazi, and the night before he died he joked that he would shove a few documents down his pants to make sure that the marines got him out safe. Seriously, you are an idiot if you place this on anyone’s head but the entirety of the federal government, including the GOP.

@Florida Native says–The butcher of Benghazi, eh? Funny how no Republican (or Democrat, for that matter) EVER talks about Condolezza Rice and HER complicity or responsibility in the Iraqi War which has killed God-knows-how-many soldiers and civilians from America, Iraq and all the other countries around the world that we dragged into that mess on the strength of misinformation and outright lies. Conservatives seem to have a great deal of difficulty applying the same standard to themselves that they do to others.

I’m not into politics or have any love for politicians. They all are liars and self absorbed and have no trustworthy qualities regardless of party affiliated. As a former military professional I can and will NEVER forgive Mrs. Clinton for her handling Benghazi and that “what does it matter” comment! I will provide funding and anything else that I can do to ensure she is never elected POTUS. I owe that much to my fellow fallen warriors.

@Jack Howell says–And yet, you STILL have nothing to say about Iraq–a Republican invention. I guess you don’t have quite as much outrage about the wounds that THOSE fallen warriors have suffered from…and continue to suffer from. As for the “what does it matter” comment and the resulting outrage..I am sick of hearing Conservatives takes that PART of ONE sentence out of context to suit their ends. Darryl Issa is a hack whose entire career is predicated on distorting tragic situation into “winners” for Conservatives whose only real goal is to bring down any viable democratic candidate that they can. Ms. Clinton VERY CLEARLY uttered that PARTIAL response in exasperation as she was trying to make the point that WE NEED TO LEARN FROM THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY INSTEAD OF MAKING IT A POLITICAL TALKING POINT TO SCORE FOR THE REPUBLICAN HOME TEAM ON THE EVENING NEWS. Darryl Issa was making the same erroneous assumptions (which he loosely cloaked as questions) and trying to get her to take the bait in a traps he was trying to set. She refused to oblige. But she DID become impatient–which anyone would. It was a cynical circus, orchestrated by Republicans to stir up their crazy base, all of whom were circling the waters as soon as they smelled blood. That the blood came from public servants who diec tragically in the line of duty and were now being exploited as fodder for the Republican mill bothered those outraged patriots not at all. I think we owe it to the victims of Benghazi not to exploit their tragic deaths any longer.

This woman has not accomplished anything in her life other than being the best prevaricator I have ever witnessed. To wit:

1. Rosewood Law SCANDAL
2. Bosnia; yeah, remember that one where she claimed she was shot at after landing aboard a NATO aircraft? The 4 star NATO commander was with her at the time and couldn’t believe what he had heard. I served under him and he is a man of impeccable honor.
3. New York Senator? from Arkansas?
4. Nice job with Benghazi!!

I fervently wish that the Dems would come up with a viable candidate who would bring the office of the president back to one that all Americans and the rest of the world respect. That way the election will not be an ultimatum about the nations future regardless of who wins.

“I fervently wish that the Dems would come up with a viable candidate who would bring the office of the president back to one that all Americans and the rest of the world respect. That way the election will not be an ultimatum about the nations future regardless of who wins.”

Who ever; whether Hillary, Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren or a combination of any two of them will win in 2016! I am pretty sure.
What do you expect with contenders like Chris (GWB closing, Sandy Funds vanished) Christie, “thirsty” for power Marco Rubio, looser for VP Paul Ryan or the one that wants to expel our elected Potus to Nigeria or “Cruz”- cify him. The only one that so far saves the day is Jeb, avoiding yet any virulent attacks to our Commander in Chief elected by the majority of Americans.
Besides all the extreme Conservatives who else is going to vote for any of the GOP candidates above; most women after they intrude with their rights to control their reproduction, Gays, minorities, government workers loosing their jobs or pensions, non government workers denied their unemployment after being fired and also denied the $10.5 minimum wage, the unemployed, the elderly when they want to privatize for their Wall Street buddies profits SS and Medicare, the 20 million plus that didn’t have Health Care Insurance until Obamacare kicked in, students forced to pay higher rates in loans and the over 7 million unemployed for over 6 years, that have given up finding full time work because there is none, thanks to the outsourcing engineered by companies like Bain where looser past GOP Presidential candidate Romney made his millions?
The time for all of us to wake up is now.

The way the polls are leaning, if Clinton decides to run, we may see, once again, remarkable history being made. Most of the voting public will not be aware of The Rosewood “scandal.” or even care. And to clear up any misconceptions the Clinton’s were never indicted for any crimes in relation to Whitewater. I am not saying they were totally innocent, I’m just stating the record. The misspeaks of sniper fire. Big deal, who cares? New York, Arkansas, Gibbit Senator, again so what? Benghazi? Horrible. But so were all the other embassy attacks. After days of questioning by Congress, she was exonerated. Very tragic. And regarding her statement of ‘what difference does it make’? you need to read this in the context of the answer. The Republicans will try to run with this one as Fox will once again give out misinformation, lies and distortions. I too wish the Democrats could find a viable candidate that the Republicans won’t try to destroy for political reasons. But unless the Republicans start caring for us it won’t happen.

Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith, Christopher Stevens, Glen Doherty. “At this point in time what difference does it make”. I bet if it was Chelsea Clinton that was left to die in Benghazi it would make a difference. And previously she goes out apologizing for a you tube video to the very people that burn our flag. God help us. We need a TRUE AMERICAN president in 2016.

Already the drums are beating for Hillary. Imagine trying to influence the low-information voters early by repeating her name over and over for years so that’s all that they can recall, and trying to make it appear that no one else matters. And Bush? A RINO won’t do, either. The economy is so anemic it can’t get over small humps, and a major calamity could sink us much deeper. Our government’s credit rating has dropped, so we can’t expect to borrow our way out of trouble forever, but that’s exactly what another term of tax-and-spend liberalism (or “compassionate conservatism”) would attempt. It is time to start thinking outside the box. Time to shed the Demo-Republican non-solutions. We the people should trounce both Hillary and Bush.

Whether Hillary, Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren or a combination of any two of them will win in 2016! I am pretty sure.
What do you expect with contenders like Chris (GWB closing, Sandy Funds vanished) Christie, “thirsty” for power Marco Rubio, looser for VP Paul Ryan or the one that wants to expel our elected Potus to Nigeria or “Cruz”- cify him. The only one that so far saves the day is Jeb, avoiding yet any virulent attacks to our Commander in Chief elected by the majority of Americans.
Besides all the extreme Conservatives who else is going to vote for any of the GOP candidates above; most women after they intrude with their rights to control their reproduction, Gays, minorities, government workers loosing their jobs or pensions, non government workers denied their unemployment after being fired and also denied the $10.5 minimum wage, the unemployed, the elderly when they want to privatize for their Wall Street buddies profits SS and Medicare, the 20 million plus that didn’t have Health Care Insurance until Obamacare kicked in, students forced to pay higher rates in loans and the over 7 million unemployed for over 6 years, that have given up finding full time work because there is none, thanks to the outsourcing engineered by companies like Bain where looser past GOP Presidential candidate Romney made his millions?
The time for all of us to wake up is now.

GO Hillary!!! She’s a very smart and savvy woman, who cares about ALL people.

Just a few of her accomplishments:

During her eight years as first lady, Rodham Clinton also initiated the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997, increased research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma to the National Institute of Health, as well as assisted in determining the cause of a mysterious illness affecting veterans of the Gulf War. She also initiated and guided the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and C. Everett Koop

Rodham Clinton has received many prestigious awards, including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the President’s Award of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Role Model of the Year, by the United Steel Workers of America; the Martin Luther King Jr. Award from the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals Distinguished Service Award. Rodham Clinton also has authored best-selling books, including her autobiography, Living History and It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us, which won her the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for the recorded version.

After becoming a senator, Rodham Clinton worked to strengthen New York’s economy and homeland security, while supporting a return to fiscal responsibility. She worked to bring economic relief to victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The senator introduced legislation to provide funding for threat-based homeland security to ensure adequate resources for first responders, and such high-target communities as New York City.

Hillary Rodham Clinton receives Secretary of Defense Medal

She served on various senatorial committees, including the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; Environment and Public Works Committee; Special Committee on Aging; and in 2004 was the only senator on the Transformation Advisory Group to the Joint Forces Command. She has visited troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations, to learn about the challenges American combat forces face. She also has worked for prescription-drug safety for children, to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and to prevent contamination of the American food supply by bioterrorism. She co-sponsored legislation to extend tax credits in regions that contain designated Renewal Communities, as well as introduced legislation to increase access to broadband technology in rural areas.

I am by no means someone who leans right and never did, but I’ll tell you right now–if the best Democrats think they have to offer for President in 2016 is Hillary Clinton, they deserve to lose. And their mythical polls are going to get a reality check, come Election Day. I’ll write in a candidate before I’ll vote for her or vote GOP. and I know I’m far from alone.

What’s really sad is that Flagler Live is pushing this fake populist, neo-liberal “centrist Democrat”, just because of “polling”. Whatever. Enough of these con artists from both “parties”. They represent nothing but Big Business.

I was thinking about Chis Christie possibly joining the fold in the presidential primaries.
Well it looks like I won’t have to think about that anymore! He’s on the road to ruin by
all acounts as a big liar. Sh**, I was probably going to vote for him…..

That troubles me because I DREAD Hillary Clinton becoming president.
It scares me so much that I’d actually vote for a REPUGNICAN!
(terrifies me to the marrow of my Boniva-needing bones)

All you second amendmenters out there: bye-bye 2nd amendment.
We’ll join Great Britain and Australia’s ranks as suckers who lost
a uniquely American birthright.

Our current president is trying to do that NOW, she’ll most certainly get it done.

ATTENTION K-MART SHOPPERS! The most recent BIPARTISAN report on the attack in Benghazi SUPPORTS AND VALIDATES previous reports that it was sparked by the anti-Muslim video referred to initially by Susan Rice…Of course, you won’t hear about that BIPARTISAN report on FOX news…not when it inconveniently interferes with the Republican agenda of smearing prominent Democrats with juicy (albeit, totally fabricated) conspiracy theories….theories that they throw out like so much chum to the Neo-conservative sharks that are constantly circling the polluted waters that are their natural habitat

I/M/O says–There is much to admire about Dr. Benjamin Carson, including his incredible will and tenacity (which he both inherited and learned from his very determined and devoted mother) and his skill as a surgeon and dedication to improving himself and the lives of his patients. He and his wife have also established a foundation to help poor and troubled youth which is highly commendable. Unfortunately, he appears to have forgotten that he and his family were dependent on Medical Assistance themselves as they struggled financially throughout his youth. It was those long hours waiting in hospitals for those same services that provided a basis for his fascination with, and dedication to, medicine. That he would decry healthcare reform, which would provide critical medical services to uninsured individuals caught in the historical holes in our nation’s safety net, is mystifying, to say the least. The same hard-headedness that helped him, no doubt, succeed against great odds, has also been known to descend into arrogance, narcissism and downright cruelty on occasion. He is known to possess a fierce temper which was quite out of control when he was a youth and young man. He was known to attack schoolmates in violent fits of temper and once attacked his own mother with a hammer and nearly stabbed a friend to death. He credits the Bible with “saving” him from these tendencies but it still gives one pause…Perhaps he has been successful in finding outlets for the demons that once plagued him. Perhaps all those tendencies have magically “gone away”, although I am leery of anyone who credits such a complete transformation to the magic power of the good book alone. He once stated, in his own autobiography, that it helped him immeasurably to stop focusing so much on himself and dedicating himself to medicine, as a way to help others. A political life tends to worsen one’s narcissistic tendencies, if one is not careful. As brilliant as I think Dr. Carson is, his own lack of personal insight (despite much self- reflection) and determinedly black and white view of the world are traits that give me pause. I am also leery of White Conservatives who bring his name up as a Black token alternative that might help them look good even as they keep their own prejudices secretly intact. That’s pretty cynical.

…and, as for Hillary Clinton not accomplishing anything in her life, that rates up there in the same category as the Tea Party’s oft-stated remark that Barack Obama has not accomplished anything of note in HIS life…a statement usually followed by doubts being uttered about his birth certificate, his college transcripts, etc.. Here is the Tea Party philosophy in a nutshell (and I DO mean nutshell): Anything I don’t choose to believe can’t possibly be the truth therefore, I feel entitled to twist the truth beyond all recognition and those who won’t go along with me are godless and un-American–so they don’t deserve to vote anyway. Too bad for Koch brother minions that they can’t stop millions from lining up at the polls to assert their rights, despite all GOP attempts to curtail those efforts.